11,000 of us at Tandem have helped to buy Harrods Bank, says chief Ricky Knox

04 Oct 2017

Ricky Knox, founder of Tandem Bank, believes the help of over 11,000 co-founders has helped shape the business to the point where they have just bought Harrods Bank.

Knox has helped oversee the purchase of Harrods Bank, which was founded way back in 1893; a sign of the times that more than a century later it should be bought by a challenger online-only.

Harrods, of course, is a global brand and the deal will massively boost Tandem's position after it lost its banking licence in March following an expected £29million investment from House of Fraser owner China Sanpower Group fell down.

Mr Knox said: "Tandem has been built from the ground-up with the help of over 11,000 co-founders, who have helped us shape products and services that really make a difference to their lives."

Harrods, for its part, took to the company's website, to explain: "The bank will remain authorised by the PRA and regulated by the PRA and FCA and will continue to operate its business and service its customers. The Bank's deposits are also protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's deposit protection scheme."

Originally Harrods attempted to make a move into the mass savings market by offering a number of accounts having previously only offered bespoke deals to clients at its branch on the second floor of its Knightsbridge empire HQ.

The two parties say they are working closely together to make sure there is a smooth transition for existing Harrods Bank customers. To that end, the terms and conditions of its fixed term deposits will be unaffected and as such no withdrawals or deposits may be made until the end of the term.

The acquisition by Tandem will, it is said, provide it with £80million of capital along with the banking licence needed to offer accounts in the UK.

Back in May, Tandem cut its headcount by around 30 people after when the aforementioned funding failed to materialise. It reduced its staffing levels from around 110 to around 80. The headcount reduction included both redundancies and contractors who were not renewed.

At the time, Mr Knox said: "We actually had quite a few contractors in the room and we now have almost none. That made sense because when you're going into your digital build to make sure you've got enough people to get the product out there you need to add some extra heads in." The staff cut follows redundancies earlier in the year, prior to the funding fall through.